Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
- Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed. + 3rd in progress)
Leading reference work which covers all aspects of the Islamic world including religion, history, politics, and culture. Scope includes all time periods and geographic areas.
The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture by Call Number: Art Reference N6260 .G75 2009 vol.1-3ISBN: 9780195309911Publication Date: 2009Deals with all aspects of Islamic art and architecture ranging from the Middle East to Africa to Central, South, and East Asia and includes entries on artists, rulers, writers, ceramics, sculpture, metalwork, painting, calligraphy, textiles, and more. Also available online (see link).
Dictionary of Islamic Architecture by Call Number: Art Reference NA380 .P46 1996ISBN: 0415060842Publication Date: 1995Also available online (see link).
- Islamic Art Network: Technical Glossary
A glossary composed of all the terms common in the field of Islamic art and architecture including Islamic dynasties, craftsmen vocabulary, endowment deeds’ vocabulary, etc. - Oxford Islamic Studies Online
Use for introductory essays about important people, places, events and, to a lesser degree, objects/ monuments throughout the history of Islamic religion and culture. The majority of essays cover political or religious topics. Supplemented by Qur'anic studies resources.
Dynasties & Dates
- Gregorian (AD) ↔ lunar Hijri (AH) ↔ Julian (AD)There are a number of websites for converting dates between the various Christian calendars (Gregorian, Julian, Coptic, etc.) and Islamic calendars (lunar Hijri, Persian/Afghan solar Hijri, Ottoman Rumi solar Hijri, etc.) used in the Middle East and the Islamic world
The new Islamic dynasties : a chronological and genealogical manual by Call Number: Main Library DS35.627 .B67 1996bISBN: 074860684Publication Date: 1996Names and dates of Muslim rulers from the Prophet Muhammad to the 20th c., from Islamic Spain and the Maghreb to Central Asia and India.
- Arabic Nomenclature: A Summary Guide for BeginnersA brief (8 pp.) guide to classical Arabic names. This guide will help determine how to locate names in biographical & bio-bibliographical works.
Islamic Names by Call Number: Man Library CS2970.S35 1989ISBN: 0852245637Publication Date: 1990A guide to the structure and uses of personal names in Arab & non-Arab Islamic cultures.
Handbooks and Guides to the Field
Islamic Art Collections by Call Number: Art Library N6260 .A29 2000ISBN: 0700711538Publication Date: 2000An annotated index and general orientation of Islamic art collections in museums, libraries, other institutions and on private hands.
An Introduction to Islamic Archaeology by Call Number: Main Library DS 56 .M527 2010ISBN: 9780748623105Publication Date: 2010This introduction to the archaeology of the Islamic world traces the history of the discipline from its earliest manifestations through to the present and evaluates the contribution made by archaeology to the understanding of key aspects of Islamic culture. Also available online (see link)
The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran by ISBN: 9780199733309This handbook fills a longstanding gap in the literature of the ancient Near East covering a wide range of topics centered on the region now known as Iran: from the earliest Paleolithic settlements in the Pleistocene era to the arrival of Islam in the 7th century CE.
The volume is divided into sections: Prehistory, the Chalcolithic, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Achaemenid period, the Seleucid and Arsacid periods, and the Sasanian period, concluding with the Arab period in Iran. Also covers numismatics (Elymaean, Arsacid, Persid and Sasanian), religion (the Avesta and Zoroastrianism), languages (proto-Elamite, Elamite, Akkadian, Old Persian, Greek, Aramaic, Parthian and Middle Persian), political ideology, calendrics, textiles, administrative seals and sealing, Sasanian silver and reliefs, and political relations with Rome and Byzantium.
The Study of the Middle East by Call Number: Main Library DS61.8.S78ISBN: 0471073040Publication Date: 1976
